Thursday, December 1, 2016

PETA is at it again, but are they finally being reasonable?

Have PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) actually found a cause worthy of their vehement protestations?

After a recent PETA video exposé about how the cows on the cattle ranches that provide GM's leather process are treated, PETA has decided to stage a protest to gain more attention. Because, of course they have! That's what PETA does.

The videos, which show that cows were branded on the face with no pain relief, electroshocked, and beaten, are not for the faint of heart, and PETA is calling for the practice to be stopped completely.

If that sounds awful, is it. WTF is wrong with people? So, despite out usual eye-rolling in PETA's direction, we have at least one foot on board with this protest.

So this is what PETA's doing: Two life-sized inflatable bulls are leading a protest outside General Motors' headquarters today, accompanied by such signs as "Branded, Beaten, and Slaughtered."

And is this actually be a good idea? Well it certainly could be. We already know that livestock production has a negative affect on the environment as a whole. If we can find ways to decrease the need for production even a little bit, Planet Earth might thank us. Aside from the fact that the cows might thank us too.

But even if replacing leather seats with vegan imitation and changing your all-meat American diet for veggies isn't your bag, the humane treatment of cattle is certainly nothing to sneeze at.